Zombie Quinceanera

Zombie Quinceanera is a 68-page, full size comic, with color covers and B&W interior. It’s written and illustrated by Jesse Gutierrez and published by Bandido Studios.

Back in the 1600’s an evil man was burned at the stake for his many sinful acts. Before the flames consumed him he promised to one day return and bring the dead with him! Jump forward a few hundred years to present day Arizona and we join Tina and Hilda, two Latino girls working a catering gig at a party, and a landscaping crew working in a nearby area. At first all seems well, then a scream shatters the peaceful setting. Soon the landscaping crew, Tina and Hilda, the partiers, and a group of Aryan Nazis are overtaken by zombies recently raised from a neighboring graveyard and led by the condemned man from the 1600’s that has indeed returned!

As everyone fights for their lives against the undead, Arizona governor Jan Brewer, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and a couple of other Arizona right wingers all attending the Aryan Nazi meeting are also swarmed by the zombies. Once Brewer loses her wig it’s hard to distinguish her from the rotting, repulsive zombies!

This comic is an action packed zombie fest laced with social commentary on race relations and overt racism in Arizona. The fact that the character of Joe Arpaio can’t tell the difference between zombies and “Mexicans” in one panel not so subtly illustrates the underlying racism that permeates Arizona right-wing politics. And this comic literally shows that even the zombies can’t stomach these right-wing nut jobs.

The storytelling flows well from introducing a back story, to the establishment of main characters and a setting, to building action and finally a conclusion. The artwork follows a rough, sketchy style full of broad lines, heavy shadows, and ink washes. The layout is easy to follow and the hand lettering is clear an legible.

You can contact the comic’s creator, Jesse, at http://on.fb.me/1rezBxd and see more from his Bandido Studios at http://bit.ly/1rezBxj